Airbnb announced Monday the finalization of several tax agreements across Ontario — including in Greater Sudbury, Mississauga and Brockville.

The agreements will allow Airbnb to collect and remit the four-per-cent municipal accommodation tax on behalf of its hosts in these communities.

As a result, effective Oct. 1, Airbnb will automatically collect and remit the tax on all Airbnb bookings, “making the process seamless and easy for both hosts and municipal governments.”

“This is a significant milestone for Airbnb in Ontario,” Alex Dagg, public policy director for Airbnb in Canada, said in a release. “At a time when communities are working hard to stretch every dollar, we can be valuable partners in strengthening local economies that are embracing home sharing.”

Sudbury’s hotel tax came into effort Sept. 1 and will generate about $1.68 million per year. The city has more than 2,000 hotel rooms in Sudbury, from bed-and-breakfast accommodations to international hotel chains.

The mandatory four per cent tax, which will be charged on all short-term overnight accommodations, will generate money to support ongoing infrastructure development in Greater Sudbury. It will contribute to the community economic development strategic goal of becoming one of Ontario’s top destinations, according to the city.

The municipal accommodation tax applies to hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, online travel sites and short-term home rentals such as those sold through Airbnb, within the municipality.

Half of the new tax’s net revenue will be given to the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation, to increase hotel occupancy rates and bring more visitors to the city each year. The city will put its share of the proceeds toward funding part of the debt for the new Kingsway Entertainment District events centre, as approved during the 2018 budget.

Airbnb said it has now partnered with more than 500 governments around the world to collect and remit taxes.

Oct. 1 also marks the first day Airbnb will be collecting and remitting the provincial sales tax and the municipal regional district tax in British Columbia.

Oct. 1 also marks the first year anniversary of Airbnb collecting and remitting the tax on lodging in the province of Quebec. The platform remitted $2.8 million to the province in the first six months of the agreement.

In Greater Sudbury, Airbnb (which stands for air bed and breakfast) has 100 hosts, who offer visitors a place to stay at cheaper rates than hotels.

The Press Association described Airbnb as an online marketplace that lets people rent out their properties or spare rooms to guests. Airbnb takes tghree per cent commission of every booking from hosts, and from six to 12 per cent from guests.

There’s plenty of criteria to list for/search a property: from a shared room to an entire house, to having a swimming pool to having a washing machine. There are photos of the property, and the hosts/guests, with full map listing.

Since the company launched in 2009, the Press Association reports, it’s grown from helping 21,000 guests a year find a place to stay to helping six million a year go on holiday, and currently lists 800,000 properties in 34,000 cities across 90 different countries.